Philadelphia cream cheese pinwheels made with chicken, cheese, taco seasoning and flour tortillas are to die for!! Such an easy appetizer to serve at any occasion and packed full of flavor and a bit spicy too!
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- Philadelphia Cream Cheese Pinwheels
- Ingredient Notes
- Substitutions and Variations
- Can you use fat free cream cheese to make pinwheels?
- Can you use flavored cream cheese spread?
- Tips
- How do you get cream cheese pinwheels to stay together?
- Can you prep pinwheels the night before?
- Cream Cheese Pinwheels Recipe
- Other party appetizers you’ll love
Have you had these cream cheese pinwheels at a party, or made them yourself? They are SO good, yet so easy to do. You can really customize them how you like but the important parts are chicken and cream cheese, I mean how can you go wrong with that!
Philadelphia Cream Cheese Pinwheels
I’m not a big fan of spicy but a bit is really good in these using diced up chilies. They’re a perfect appetizer for just about any occasion and inexpensive to make as well. You can change it up with all sorts of ingredients like we did with these pickle roll ups. Add meat, or keep vegetarian.
If you want a quick appetizer just grab a rotisserie chicken at the store and skip the cooking all together. I love the flavor they bring to recipes anyway so that’s the best choice but cooking a few chicken breasts is allowed too. 😉 As I said you can use as many diced green chilies as you’d like or just buy a can where they are already finely cut into pieces.
Ingredient Notes
- Shredded Chicken Rotisserie chicken is great, already cooked or canned works too. You want it shredded into little bits so it can be spread on evenly.
- Shredded Mexican Cheese is my favorite. You can find it already packaged at the store and has some seasoning in it already which makes this even better, otherwise use cheddar.
- You are going to use 1 oz. of Taco Seasoning. I use it so often I buy a large container but you can find small packets at the store
- 4-5 Burrito Sized Tortillas is the size that you want. I would only use flour because they are soft and super pliable, easier to roll.
- Green Onions are optional, chopped into fine bits
- Petite diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies gives them more flavor and texture too which we love
- Block of cream cheese softened
Substitutions and Variations
Now you could use other meats too. These are great leftover turkey recipes or with ham slices too. Use lunchmeat if you want to make these throughout the year. Just mix the other ingredients together, lay down your slices of meat in one layer on top of the spread and then roll up.
Can you use fat free cream cheese to make pinwheels?
I mean yes, but the flavor is different. Low fat is a better choice with less of a flavor difference but regular is the best. You would make them the same way no matter what Philadelphia cream cheese flavor or fat content you chose to use.
Can you use flavored cream cheese spread?
You can actually buy it this way now, there are many to choose from but onion and chive is best to use for this recipe. If you wanted to make your own just leave your block out to soften. Then dice onions and chives. Fold together until smooth. I would add a sprinkle of garlic salt into there to to make it more savory.
Tips
Once you have everything you just mix it all together and pile it on your tortilla. Depending on how thick you want the filling you can make a thin or thicker layer on top, then roll up and slice it. Arrange them on a pretty platter and you’re set. They look really pretty served as an appetizer and they are FULL of great flavors everyone loves.
How do you get cream cheese pinwheels to stay together?
Individuality wrap them in Saran wrap and refrigerate for about an hour. This makes them easier to cut and stick everything so they don’t want to unravel when sliced. Remove from fridge and cut each roll-up into 10-12 slices. Now, they are ready to be served or stored in an airtight container.
Can you prep pinwheels the night before?
Yes and no. You wouldn’t want to put anything on the tortillas ahead of time or they will get soggy. You could easily prep the filling though and cover tightly with saran wrap. Kept in the fridge it would be ready to spread right before serving which would save you quite a bit of time.
Cream Cheese Pinwheels Recipe
Equipment
- 1 knife
- 1 Bowl
Ingredients
- 3 cups Chicken, shredded rotisserie chicken is great, must be precooked and shredded
- 1- 8 oz Mexican Cheese, or cheddar
- ½ Packet Taco Seasoning
- 4-5 large Tortillas, Burrito Sized
- 6 small Green Onions, Chopped * optional
- ½ can Tomatoes, canned, diced with Green Chilies
- 1 block cream cheese, softened
Instructions
- Add cream cheese, shredded chicken, shredded cheese, ½ packet taco seasoning, diced tomatoes with green chilies, and green onions into a mixing bowl. Mix well.
- Spread some mixture over the entire tortilla, then Roll-up tightly. Continue to do this until all mixture is gone.
- Individuality wrap them in Saran wrap and refrigerate for about an hour. (This makes them easier to cut).Remove from fridge and cut each roll-up into 10-12 slices.
- Now, they are ready to be served or stored in an airtight container.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Technically, yes you can freeze them but they won’t be a good texture when defrosted. Frozen tortillas will become soggy when thawed so this isn’t suggested. These should be eaten freshly made for the best texture.
Other party appetizers you’ll love
If you’re throwing a party for New Years or otherwise you’ve got to try this recipe! Paired with something like this baked brie with apples and/or our Ninja Foodi crab rangoon pieces everyone will just be in heaven.
